This timely book expands on Viktor Frankl's seminal Man's Search for Meaning, examining the book's concepts in depth and widening the market for them by introducing an entirely new way to look at work and the workplace. Alex Pattakos, a former colleague of Frankl's, brings the search for meaning at work within the grasp of every reader using simple, straightforward language. The author distills Frankl's ideas into seven core principles: Exercise the freedom to choose your attitude; Realize your will to meaning; Detect the meaning of life's moments; Don't work against yourself; Look at yourself from a distance; Shift your focus of attention; and Extend beyond yourself. By demonstrating how Dr. Frankl's key principles can be applied to all kinds of work situations, Prisoners of Our Thoughts opens up new opportunities for finding personal meaning and living an authentic work life.

Review

"This landmark book underscores how the search for meaning is intimately related to and positively influences health improvement at all levels. Reading "Prisoners of Our Thoughts" is an insightful prescription for promoting health and wellness!"--Kenneth R. Pelletier, PhD, MD, Professor, University of Arizona and University of California, San Francisco Schools of Medicine; Chairman, American Health Association; and author of "The""Best Alternative Medicine."
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.

Most helpful customer reviews

If you have ever taken a self-improvement seminar or read a self-help book, you have probably encountered one or more quotes from Dr. Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning, in which he describes what he learned through being in Nazi concentration camps as a persecuted Jew. The book is the foundation for a school of thought that is a spiritual counterpoint to seeing humans as driven by desire (Freud) and power (Adler). Frankl's examples are compelling because they are born of such intense suffering and achieve beautiful transcendence.

If you reverse the title and subtitle of this book, you get a better sense of the book's contents.

Dr. Pattakos in the book and Dr. Covey in the foreword briefly recount the meetings with Dr. Frankl and his influence on their lives and practices. Dr. Pattakos writes briefly about seven principles he has distilled from Dr. Frankl's work.

These principles are:

1. Freedom to choose our reaction and attitude towards things that affect us (we can see negative things in positive ways as Dr. Frankl did in viewing his time in Nazi concentration camps);

2. We can focus consciously on positive, meaningful values and goals (look to improve, rather than complain);

3. We can find meaning in everything that happens (a setback is an opportunity to learn how to improve);

4. We can learn how to stop our self-sabotage (get out of funks, rather than deepening them);

5. We can see ourselves objectively and with humor (and gain from these perspectives);

6. We can choose our focus when dealing with challenges in ways that will reward us (count your blessings when you have a problem);